1/3 of Women in U.S. Military Have Been Raped

According to NPR, “In 2003, a survey of female veterans found that 30 percent said they were raped in the military. A 2004 study of veterans who were seeking help for post-traumatic stress disorder found that 71 percent of the women said they were sexually assaulted or raped while serving. And a 1995 study of female veterans of the Gulf and earlier wars, found that 90 percent had been sexually harassed.”

The BBC recently reported on “The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq” by Helen Benedict. This book examines the extreme difficulties female soldiers have in serving abroad. Benedict interviewed several women in the military to get a deeper understanding of the issue, and some of their stories were real eye openers.

Army specialist Chantelle Henneberry spoke of some of her experiences in Iraq, “Everybody’s supposed to have a battle buddy in the army, and females are supposed to have one to go to the latrines with, or to the showers — that’s so you don’t get raped by one of the men on your own side. But because I was the only female there, I didn’t have a battle buddy. My battle buddy was my gun and my knife.”

Everything about this story and what it says about the human condition, from the soldiers themselves to the Congressmen who voted against Franken's bill, makes me want to fucking puke.

Anarchon414

This is sickening. If they are raping that many women in the military itself we can only begin to wonder how many more civilian women in Afghanistan and Iraq have been raped or even murdered.

I guess this is the “democracy” and “human rights” the US is bringing to them. Sickening.

santosfabian

sucks

Joseph

The first time one of these victims uses their combat training to kill their rapist, things will become…interesting.

http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/PDDVWRQVUPMKRGHURIEQVNYWHQ Sean

nice theory but the women are usually weaker and have much less combat combat training.In the army, infantry anyway, you are taught violence and aggression are good,If you arent Macho then you must be some faggot, and the NCO's in charge of handeling the investigation and reporting are probably buddies with the aggressors…and people wonder why it happens

WhatLaw?

Anyone who is shocked at this, is very naive. What do you expect? When a president says ” the constitution is just a piece of paper, ('06 Bush)” how do any laws to have any value beyond that of toilet paper. Women who are raped without inflicting real damage miss the best chance at justice they'll ever get. Bite a nose off, claw that face off, leave your mark, show your attacker they picked the wrong victim or regret forever you didn't. Here is evidence that in spite of the lip service for support and justice, by the military responsible for providing it, there is none for women when it comes to rape of female soldiers.

Soars55

What do you expect? Responsible reporting for one thing. It is certainly sickening — and it is also untrue. It would help if people checked facts.

The statistic so often (and so purposefully?) misquoted refers to 1/3 of women who later seek medical treatment at the Veterans Administration. THIS IS FAR DIFFERENT for the claim made here. While appalling enough the REAL figures are a fraction of those this irresponsible reporting provides. Benedict knows the real figures, guess it sells more books to inflate things.

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Yes, if US can’t save their own military women by raped, how they can save iraqi and afghani women?

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Yes, if US can't save their own military women by raped, how they can save iraqi and afghani women?

Alexisdreatori

This issue sucks and the government still wants to control ladies from joining the army. The only solution is to teach every lady in CQB.